The Secret Language
by Christina TM
Summary: Enterprise gets a new ensign and must learn her secret language. COMPLETED
1. One

DISCLAIMER: ENTERPRISE is not mine. Amber Scott is.

AUTHOR'S NOTES: It's my first ENTERPRISE fic where something's actually HAPPENING! Woohoo! Those of you who have read my other fics will be pleased. I wrote this because I am taking American Sign Language as my foreign language for high school. I wanted to incorporate ASL into a story and here's what I came up with. Hope ya like it. Please forgive any contradictions with the show, as I don't get to see it as often as I'd like. Also some of the signs I describe in here are not actual signs, since many of them describe twenty-fourth century technology or species. For a large listing of sign language terms visit http://commtechlab.msu.edu/sites/aslweb/browser.htm 

SPECIAL THANKS: I want to thank Cheri Bradford, my sign language teacher. Without her I would not have been able to write this story at all.

CATEGORY: General for now, may change later on.

RATED: G. Later chapters may be PG depending on what happens.

ARCHIVES: Ask and ye shall receive.  
  


THE SECRET LANGUAGE

CHAPTER ONE  
  


"So what's this about, Admiral?" Jonathan Archer, captain of the SS ENTERPRISE NX-01 said, sitting in front of his view screen. he was about to talk to the little ray of sunshine in his life, Admiral Forest.

"It is about your new Ensign scheduled to arrive today." Forest said from the view screen. While it could rarely be said that the man looked cheerful, he looked even less so today.

"Amber Scott?" Archer asked.

"Correct." Forest nodded. "I'm afraid you haven't been...completely informed about the details."

Archer gave the Admiral a quizzical look. "I know that she's scheduled to arrive at 1300 hours." He said. "I know that she's twenty-eight years old, first year graduate of Starfleet Academy, salutatorian of her class-"

"That's not it, Captain." Forest cut him off. "I don't believe you've been informed of her...disability."

"Disability?" Now Archer was really confused. "There's nothing about a disability on her record."

"She's deaf, Captain." Forest said.

Archer sat back in his chair. "Deaf?"

Forest nodded.

"Most deaf people can talk, right?" Archer asked. "At least a little?"

"Ensign Scott can't." Forest said. "She's profoundly deaf, and mute. She communicates through sign language."

"Profoundly deaf." Archer repeated the words to himself. "So you could fire a gun off next to her head and she wouldn't hear it?"

"She'd feel the concussion from the sound." Forest said. "But she's without any hearing. She's been deaf from birth. She'll have an interpreter with her."

"Ensign Scott can't do her work if she has an interpreter with her all the time." Archer said.

"Oh, the interpreter won't be here all the time." Forest said. "Just for the first couple of months, until you and the crew have learned enough sign language to communicate with her."

Archer sat back in his chair. "You're kidding me, right, Admiral?"

Forest shook his head. "No. Ensign Scott's interpreter, John Sinclair, will teach the senior staff enough to get your point across. After that, you'll need to find help on your own if you want to learn more."

"What about the other officers?" Archer asked.

"Odds are she won't be interacting with them much." Forest said. "However, if need be, she can have one of you interpret for her, and John is gonna try to teach most of the crew basic fingerspelling."

"Fingerspelling?" Archer inquired.

"Spelling the letters out on your fingers." Forest clarified.

"It's awful hard to teach eighty-seven people sign language." Archer said.

"Captain, you *do* have the ability and the authority to reject Ensign Scott now, before she gets to your ship." Forest said. 

"No, no, I signed up for this deal to explore." Archer said. "Tell Ensign Scott to arrive here on schedule."

"I will, Captain." Forest said.

"All right, Admiral, thank you. Archer out." Archer walked out of his quarters to brief his crew about their new addition. He had a funny feeling his life was about to get a whole lot more complicated.  
  
-----

"She's *deaf?* Commander Charles "Trip" Tucker III said after Archer had told his senior staff what Forest had said.

"That's right." Archer said. "Her interpreter, John Sinclair, will be with her for the first two months or so, until we..."

"Until we what?" Trip asked.

"Until we...learn enough sign language to communicate with her." Archer finished.

It went over exactly how he'd thought it would. Ensign Hoshi Sato, ENTERPRISE's communications officer, was up for it. She could become fluent in a language within a week, or so it seemed to the crew. Ensign Travis Mayweather and Lieutenant Malcolm Reed looked quizzically at each other. Trip was staring at Archer open-mouthed, and Vulcan Sub-Commander T'Pol just sat with an expression devoid of emotion, as always. Archer was sure she would speak up and say it was foolish within the next five seconds.

Actually, it was Reed who broke the silence. "Captain, not to sound pessimistic or anything," the British lieutenant started, "but how can she do her work if she can't hear? A lot of our work is dependent upon hearing things, and if something were to go wrong..."

"I'm sure she has her ways of realizing that something is wrong, Lieutenant." Archer said. "She wouldn't have been graduated salutatorian of her class if she weren't competent."

"But what if she's *not* competent?" T'Pol asked. "What if this does not work out?"

*Always the optimist.* Archer thought. "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it." He said. "Meanwhile, like it or not, we do have to learn sign language to communicate with her. I don't want to do it either, I had a hard enough time learning Spanish in high school." The crew laughed a little. "But it's what we have to do."

The crew got up to leave, but T'Pol stayed behind. It was all Archer could do not to cringe.*Here it comes* He thought.

"This is foolish." T'Pol stated bluntly.

"Didn't you say the same thing on the first mission?" Archer said, recalling iEnterprise/i's near-disastrous maiden voyage.

"If Ensign Scott cannot hear, how will she understand her orders?" T'Pol asked.

*Were you not here just now, when I told everyone about this?* Archer thought. "We'll learn the language enough to get our point across, and Mr. Sinclair will be here to interpret for her, at least for a little while." He answered patiently. "And if it turns out we just can't function with her on board, we'll tell her gently and send her back home."

"It is foolish." T'Pol repeated her first statement.

"Whether it's foolish or not, Ensign Scott will be here in four hours, and you're going to be there to greet her." Archer said. "In the meantime, get back to work."  
  
-----

Ensign Amber Scott felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned around to see her interpreter, John Sinclair, smiling at her. "We're almost there, Amber." He signed the words to her, but he spoke as he signed. Amber could not hear his words, but she understood the signs perfectly. "Hit the button." John pointed to a button on the panel. John spoke into the comm system. Amber could feel the panel vibrating as they received an answer. She had often wondered what a voice coming through a comm system would sound like. 

"What did he say?" Amber signed to John.

"We're all clear." John signed back. "Look! There she is!"

Amber turned her head to see a ship hovering in front of her shuttlecraft. "She's beautiful." She signed.

"Bring us in, Amber." John signed.

Amber began to bring the shuttle in. The door to ENTERPRISE's shuttle bay opened. Amber looked at the clock. "We're early." She signed to John.

"I know." John signed back. "I'll call Captain Archer and tell him."

Amber sat back. She was excited about her first mission. She hoped she could cut it. She'd been dropped from valedictorian of her class because of her deafness. Despite the fact that she was very intelligent, she'd struggled through the Academy. It had taken her eight years to finish what she should have done in four years. The people there simply couldn't understand how hard it was to go through your classes without being able to hear what your teacher was saying! Amber had relied on John and her other senses. She had learned to feel, look, and smell for danger rather than listen for it. She could lipread a little, and that helped. Her eyes worked just as well as any other person's, and so did her hands, and her nose. Why couldn't she use them?

None of that mattered now. Amber Scott was headed for her first deep space mission, and she couldn't wait. She was also glad EMTERPRISE had accepted her. When the other ships had heard of her deafness, they'd turned her down.

"Here we are!" John signed, breaking Amber's train of thought. "There's Captain Archer." 

Amber looked out the shuttle's front window and saw three people, two men and a woman. "Which is Captain Archer?" She signed.

"On the left." John signed, indicating a tall, brown-haired man. "The other two are Commander Charles Tucker III and Sub-Commander T'Pol."

The shuttle's door opened and John stood up. "After you." He signed, indicating the door.

Amber stood up, straightened her uniform, and marched out of the shuttlecraft.   
  
-----

Commander Charles "Trip" Tucker stood, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. Where was this Ensign Scott? He wondered what she'd be like. He'd never met a deaf person before. Could she read lips? Was there anything special he should know about her?

*Relax, Trip.* He told himself. *Just pretend your greeting any other new ensign. You'll do fine.*

Right then, the shuttle's door opened and a smallish woman with medium-length light brown hair came out. *That must be her.* Trip thought. The woman was followed by a fortyish man with graying black hair. *And that must be her interpreter.* 

Ensign Scott snapped to attention and saluted Captain Archer. Archer saluted her back. She began to sign, and the man interpreted for her. "Ensign Amber Scott, reporting for duty."

"Welcome aboard, Ensign Scott." Archer said, while the man interpreted. "I'm Captain Jonathan Archer, this is my second in command, Commander Charles Tucker."

"My friends call me Trip." Trip said.

Ensign Scott seemed slightly amused. She signed something and tapped his foot with hers, just enough to make him lose his balance. Then she signed something else.

"Trip? Like that?" The interpreter said. Trip fumbled for his name. John something?

"Yes." Trip said with a slight laugh, rubbing his shin. "Like that."

"And this is my science officer, Sub-Commander T'Pol." Archer indicated the severe-looking Vulcan female to his left.

Amber signed something that looked like a question. "Are you a Vulcan?" The interpreter said.

"Yes." T'Pol answered in her typical emotionless manner.

"And I am John Sinclair." The interpreter said. "I'm Amber's interpreter, and as far as you're concerned, I'm not here. Speak directly to Amber."

"Welcome to ENTERPRISE."Archer said. "Commander Tucker will show you to your quarters."

Trip carefully watched John's hands as he interpreted, but couldn't make sense of it. It just looked like a bunch of hand motions. He'd be lucky if he could ever make any sense of it. 

"Commander Tucker will show you to your quarters." Archer repeated, a little more loudly this time. Trip looked up, startled. He'd been watching John so closely he'd forgotten about his job. "Right." Trip cleared his throat. "Right this way."  
  
-----

"How did Trip come about?" Amber signed to Commander Tucker as they walked to her quarters.

Tucker answered, and Amber could see his lips moving. She lipread "daddy" "his" "Charlie" and "Tucker", but other than that she didn't get much. She glanced at John for an interpretation. He signed: "My daddy's name was Charlie and so was his daddy. My daddy didn't want to be 'old Charlie' so I became Trip Tucker."

Amber nodded. She wished she could hear Trip's voice. She wondered if his voice was as bouncy and carefree as he seemed. She had the funny feeling she was going to like this Commander.

"Here we are." Amber lipread as Trip stopped at her quarters. "Hope the all ite."

Amber blinked and shook her head. "What was that?" She signed.

"Hope the all ite." Amber lipread again. Frustrated, she looked at John.

"Hope they are all right." John signed. 

Amber smiled. "I'm sure they are fine. Thank you."

"You're welcome." Amber lipread. After a second, she decided it was time for Trip to have his first sign language lesson. She extended her hand, index finger pointing at Trip, and then brought it back to her body.

"What's that?" John interpreted Trip's words.

"You're welcome." Amber signed. "That's the sign for 'you're welcome.'"

Trip repeated the sign. "Thanks." Amber lipread. "See you at 0900 tomorrow and don't be late."

After receiving the interpretation from John, Amber laughed. "I won't." She signed. "See you then."

Trip gave a friendly wave and left to show John to his quarters.

Amber stepped into her quarters and looked around. The room was small, no bigger than her bedroom had been when she was a child. A small bed was in the corner. Sitting down on it, Amber opened her diary and began to write. She was different from most deaf people in that she wrote and read very well. Ever since she was little, she'd found that writing things down helped her to get them out of the way, or to remember them forever. and this was something she wanted to remember.

June 15, 2151

Guess what? I made it! I got to ENTERPRISE and I start work tomorrow at 0900. I'm working in Engineering with the same guy who led me to my quarters today. His name's Charlie Tucker, but he says his friends call him Trip. I thanked him for taking me to my quarters today and then I taught him the sign for "you're welcome." His first sign language lesson!

John will only be here with me for a little while. He's teaching the senior staff sign language so they can communicate with me. I don't want to be a hindrance, but I'm glad this crew doesn't seem to see me as one. The ZENITH turned me down because they thought I'd be no good. My instructor at the Academy told me that they were wrong, and we'd find a ship who'd take me. Well, it's not like I had a whole lot of choices. There's only the ZENITH, the POLARIS and ENTERPRISE. I'm so glad ENTERPRISE decided to take me. The quarters are pretty cramped, but it's a small price to pay. I'm finally there. My lifelong dream of Starfleet has finally come true. And on top of all that, I get to work with a REALLY cute chief engineer!

Well, better get going. I'm gonna try to explore a little bit. I wish I could start work now. Maybe I'll go check out Engineering. I hope no one tries to talk to me since they don't know I can't hear them. I'm trying to free myself of John for a few hours. Not that I don't like him or anything, but it's just kind of a hassle waiting for him to interpret everything that's said to me. It really puts a cramp in conversations.  
  
-----

Chapter 2 coming soon...


	2. Two

DISCLAIMER: Still don't own it. I do still own Amber Scott and John Sinclair.

AUTHOR'S NOTES: Chapter 2 is here! Sorry it took a long time. I know what it's like to wait for a new chapter to be added (*aherm* Saturniia! Add Chapter 7 to ICE CASTLES!). 

RATED: Still G. 

CATEGORY: Still General

ARCHIVES: You've still gotta ask.  
  


THE SECRET LANGUAGE

CHAPTER TWO  
  


Amber exited her quarters. She saw crew members moving. She saw them talking, but she couldn't hear them. *What are they saying?* She wondered. Feeling a tap on her shoulder, she turned around. A crewman was saying something to her. She couldn't read his lips. *What's he trying to tell me?* She thought. *Oh, how I wish I could hear!* She hated it when this happened, because she came across as rude and/or stupid when she was really just deaf. Amber hated hurting people's feelings.

The crewman repeated his statement, and Amber still couldn't read his lips. *He doesn't know!* She thought. *He doesn't know I'm deaf!* Amber signed "I can't hear" on the off-chance that this crewman might know some sign language. But he didn't, because he said something to her that, if she read his lips right, was not a nice word.

*Well, so much for that first encounter.* Amber thought. In a lifetime of being deaf she's learned not to let hearing people's ignorance bother her. *Now, if I could just find Engineering...*

* * *

Ensign Travis Mayweather felt like he was back in school. All this signing stuff was giving him a headache. Looking up, he saw Hoshi signing like a maniac. *Figures* He thought. Hoshi could learn a language at lightning speed. Travis had a hard enough time with English. And now this John Sinclair came on board and wanted to teach the senior staff sign language. *Good luck* Travis thought, with another glance at Hoshi. 

Staring down at his paper, Travis returned his attention to "fingerspelling" his name. T. He put his thumb between his middle and index finger. R. He crossed his index and middle finger. A. He made a fist and placed his thumb next to his index finger. V. He held up his index and middle fingers in a "2" handshape. I. he held up his little finger. S. He made a fist. T-R-A-V-I-S. 

Travis wondered why Ensign Scott still communicated through sign language. Hadn't that gone out with the twenty-first century? There were ways of detecting deafness in a baby and fixing it even before the baby was born. Even if the doctors had failed to diagnose her while she was still in the womb, they could fix it right after she was born. Why hadn't she taken advantage of that? And couldn't she use a voice-to-text translator? Granted, they hadn't been improved upon much in the last one hundred fifty years, but they were better than nothing.

"Remember." John said. "If you just learn basic fingerspelling it will be enough to get your point across."

*I'll be lucky if I learn that much.* Travis thought.

"You makin' any sense outta this?" Trip asked.

Travis shook his head. "What's the sign for 'M'?"

After consulting his sheet, Trip made a fist and stuck his thumb between his ring and pinkie fingers. "Thanks." Travis said. "You got any clue why this Ensign Scott uses sign language?"

"Nope." Trip said.

"You should ask her." Travis said.

"Nah." Trip said with a dismissive shake of his head. "I don't know her well enough yet."

"What's the worst it could be?" Travis said. 

"You never know." Trip said. 

Travis gave his friend a sidelong glance. *Hmm...I wonder.* He thought. Then he looked back at his paper. *Now for the big challenge.* He set his jaw and placed his hand in the M handshape. *M-A-Y-W-...*

* * *

*Here it is.* Amber thought. *Engineering.* After forty-five minutes of wandering, she had found it. It was a busy room, packed with people doing all sorts of things. To Amber's disappointment, Trip was nowhere in sight. He must have been learning sign language with John. 

"Warp core." Amber signed to herself, descending the stairs and going to see the core. *Wow.* She thought. *A real warp core. And I get to work with it.*

Feeling a tap on her shoulder, Amber turned around. John stood looking at her.

"Amber! Where have you been?" He signed. "I've been looking everywhere for you!"

"I've been right here." Amber signed back. "Looking at Engineering."

"You're not supposed to go anywhere without me!" John signed. "What if someone had tried to talk to you?"

"You're not going to be here much longer so I might as well get used to it." Amber signed.

John shook his head and signaled for her to leave with him. Amber followed. *He's just like my parents.* She thought. *Always trying to make sure I don't get into any trouble. Why can't I just be allowed to live like a normal person?*

* * *

Chapter 3 on its way. 


	3. Three

DISCLAIMER: Even after three chapters, I do not own ANY of it, except for Amber and John.

AUTHOR'S NOTES: It's back! Welcome to Amber's first day in Engineering. Apologies once again for keeping everyone waiting so long. And more apologies if this chapter comes out looking funny, I'm experimenting with Microsoft Word's HTML. 

CATEGORY: General, maybe it's a little angsty towards the end.

RATED: G

ARCHIVES: Ask and ye shall receive.

THE SECRET LANGUAGE

CHAPTER THREE

   Amber walked into Engineering at precisely 0900 hours the next day, painfully aware of John following closely behind her. She saw Trip wave her over and she walked stiffly down the stairs. 

   "Good norming." Trip fingerspelled painstakingly. Amber knew that he meant "good morning"; he'd just confused the M and the N. Not an uncommon mistake. Forcing a smile, she fingerspelled "Good morning" slowly. She wanted to use John as little as possible. Interpreting was a pain in the neck, and it would slow things up considerably. 

   "Heue's sone dana I have ot nhe waup coue." _Here's some data I have on the warp core? _Amber thought as Trip handed her some data. "Corld you wouk ot in for ne while I check ot nhis?"

   _Could I work on it for him while he checks on this? _Amber nodded and began to look over the data until John interrupted her.

   "You could have asked me to interpret." He signed.

   "I could understand him." Amber signed back. "I've seen first-day fingerspellers do far worse than that." 

   "That won't work in emergency circumstances." John signed.

   Amber felt the frustration beginning to build. "This isn't an emergency!" She signed. "Now stop talking so I can work."

   John obeyed and stepped back. But Amber knew that he was watching her every move like a hawk. Waiting for her to fail, just like everyone else.

   At 1300 hours, Amber walked into the mess hall. There were so many people, and they were all talking. Amber wished she could hear them. What did they sound like?

   Sitting down at a table Amber looked at the absolutely disgusting food on her tray. _Just like Mom used to make. _She thought, smiling slightly. Her mother never was much of a cook.

   Amber turned around at a tap on her shoulder. A petite, slender Japanese woman stood behind her. "Is anyone sitting here?" The woman signed.

   Amber felt her eyes widen in surprise. The woman signed excellently! Was she deaf? No, she definitely signed like someone who could hear. But she signed well. 

   "Is anyone sitting here?" The woman signed again.

   "No." Amber signed and excitedly indicated the seat across from her. "Please!" _Finally, someone besides John that I can actually _sign _to! _"What's your name?" Amber signed.

   "Hoshi Sato." The woman fingerspelled. "Are you Amber Scott?"

   "Yes." Amber signed.

   "Your interpreter's been giving us sign language lessons." Hoshi signed back.

   "I know." Amber signed. "How did you learn so much in just two lessons?"

   "I did some research." Hoshi said. 

   "You must be really good at picking up languages." Amber signed. 

   "I'm the communications officer." Hoshi signed.

   The two continued to talk; oblivious to the stares they were drawing from the other officers in the mess hall.

   _Off. On. In. Out._

   Lt. Malcolm Reed repeated the new signs. He watched as John puttered around the room. Malcolm felt like he was back in fifth grade.

   "Does anyone need any help?" John asked.

   _Gosh, he even _sounds _like my fifth-grade teacher. _Malcolm thought. 

   "Um, actually," Trip said. "Ensign Mayweather here and I were wondering…why does Ensign Scott still use sign language? There are so many better options for deaf-I mean, hearing impaired people now, why hasn't she used them?"

   John gave Trip a glare that could freeze ice water in July. "That," he said, "is not for your knowledge, only Amber's, and mine."

   Trip made a face and sat back. If Malcolm knew Trip, that would only make the engineer more curious.  

   Amber finished analyzing more data and put it on her desk. She'd have to give it to Trip tomorrow. As she crossed the small room to her bed, she was grateful to be small. She'd hate to be a tall person in _these _quarters! Hopping onto her bed, she reached under her pillow and pulled out her diary and pen. Sitting Indian-style with her diary propped on the pillow, she began to write:

   _June 16th, 2151_

_   I finished my first day of work with minimal interference from John. He mostly let Trip and I fingerspell, even though Trip's fingerspelling isn't very good. He kept confusing M's, T's, N's, R's, and U's. He went really slow, but did well for someone who's just learning._

_   I really wish John would just do his job: be my interpreter. He's constantly trying to make sure I'm not in any trouble, not doing something wrong, not in a situation where someone might find out I'm deaf-oh, no! Heaven forbid _that _should happen! He acts as if being deaf is like having the Bubonic Plague or something. I feel like he's just standing there, watching for me to fail so he can point it out. He's supposed to interpret for me, not be my guard dog._

_   And I feel like I'm an inconvenience to the crew. I mean, because of me they're all getting headaches trying to learn sign language! Well, except for Hoshi. Gosh, that woman is taking off! After just one lesson she could sign like a maniac! She's at least one person that I can talk to. I don't know any of the other senior staff very well, except for Captain Archer and Trip. _

   Well anyway, I can't wait for them all to learn enough sign language so John can leave and I can work like a normal Starfleet officer. I hate feeling like an outsider. But, as long as I'm deaf, I will always be an outsider. 

Chapter 4 in the works…(and does anyone know how to get rid of this long white space at the end?)


	4. Four

DISCLAIMER: Amber and John are mine. However, everyone else belongs to Paramount. 

AUTHOR'S NOTES: Sorry to keep you all waiting! It took me a long time to figure out what to do with this chapter. And, I feel compelled to add that I am writing out what Amber and the crew sign in here in English words, but in sign language they would not be translated as literally as they are in here.

RATED: Still G

CATEGORY: General

THE SECRET LANGUAGE

CHAPTER FOUR

"Today we are going to discuss deaf culture." John said. "Deaf people are often very scared of hearing people. Some deaf people have been hurt badly by hearing people. Some have heard stories of deaf people who have been hurt by hearing people, and they develop a fear of hearing people. And some deaf people are just prejudiced towards hearing people, regardless of whether or not they know someone who has been hurt by a hearing person."

Hoshi stared off into space. John was obviously used to teaching middle school kids sign language, not senior officers on a starship. He was a nice enough guy, but the way he taught made Hoshi and the rest of the crew feel like they were ten years old.

It had now been one month since Amber Scott's arrival, and the crew was adjusting to her very nicely. Their sign language was coming along well, too. Hoshi, combining her innate talent with a little research, had become nearly fluent. Since she knew the language best out of the senior staff, she was closest to Amber. They had lunch in the mess hall together almost every day, and Amber could talk for the whole time. It didn't matter _what _they talked about, as long as they talked. Hoshi had noticed, however, that if she brought up Amber's childhood, Amber would quickly change the subject. 

"You should never use your voice when communicating with a deaf person." John continued. "It is very confusing to them. You will sign something like 'What time now', but you will _say _'What time is it'. Your brain can't separate the two phrases so your signing won't look right, and it's very confusing to the deaf person."

"So when I sign to Amber in Engineering, I can't talk while I'm signing?" Trip broke in. 

"You shouldn't." John said.

"What about when I'm talking to her and another crew member?" Trip asked. "Can I use my voice then?"

"In that case, you really have to." John said. "But it makes your signing look strange, so it would be best to avoid using your voice whenever possible."

Hoshi stifled a snicker. Not being able to talk would put a real cramp in Trip's style. 

"For deaf people, communication is everything." John said. "If you can sign at all, they'll talk to you for hours. If you can sign _well…_they'll never get away from you."

_Maybe that's why Amber loves to talk so much at lunch. _Hoshi thought. _Aside from John, I'm the only other person who knows sign language well. And I don't think John's a great conversationalist. _

"To get a deaf person's attention, you should tap on the shoulder." John said. _"Never _turn their head, or force them to look at you. That is the height of rudeness to a deaf person."

Hoshi made a mental note of this. _So much to remember! _She thought. _I'm going to go absolutely nuts! _

"Now let's go over our words for this week." John handed out papers to the staff. As he began to talk, Hoshi listened half-heartedly. She was dying to know why Amber still used sign language. Every time she brought it up, Amber didn't answer, she just changed the subject. Was there some secret here that was being kept from her? Hoshi was absolutely crazy with curiosity-not her usual way. Why was Amber so secretive about her past?

"What is it now?" Archer asked Admiral Forest. "Ensign Scott is doing fine."

"I received some information about her that you need to know." Admiral Forest said over the viewscreen.

"It better be darned important." Archer said.

"It is." Forest said.

"So what is it?" Archer asked.

"You might want to sit down, Jonathan." Forest said. 

Archer sat down. He was starting to get a little concerned. "What is it?"

Hoshi sat, watching Amber sign. Today Amber was talking about her observations on the crew. Hoshi found the ensign's insights to be quite intriguing, and often humorous. Amber was now talking about T'Pol.

"She seems so cold." Amber was signing. "Is she always like that?"

"Usually." Hoshi signed. "Vulcans don't value emotions. They go through exercises to repress them."

"That's awful." Amber signed.

"I think so, too." Hoshi signed.

"Commander Tucker is a most interesting person." Amber signed. "Has he always been so…disarming?"

Hoshi raised her eyebrows. _Disarming? _She thought. That certainly wasn't the first word that came to her mind when she thought of Trip. She'd always found his gregariousness to be more intimidating than disarming. "I don't know." Hoshi signed. "I never thought of him that way."

"I love working with him." Amber signed. "He always comes up with the strangest jokes. I've never heard them before."

"And you never will again." Hoshi signed. "Hoe _does _have a rather odd sense of humor." As she watched Amber sign, a funny thought came to her mind. _Does Amber like Trip? _It was all the communications officer could do not to laugh out loud. Now _that _would be quite the pair!

"What do you mean, she wasn't _born deaf?" _Archer asked as Forest started to give the information on Ensign Scott. "If she wasn't born deaf, how come she's completely mute?"

"When Ensign Scott was three years old, an explosion caused her to lose her hearing." Forest said. "She doesn't remember it, and as far as she's concerned she was born deaf."

"Why didn't her parents tell her?" Archer asked.

"Her parents didn't think it would be prudent to tell her." Forest sighed.                                                       

"So they just let their daughter believe she'd always been deaf?" Archer said. "How could any parent ever do that to their child?"

"They didn't know sign language." Forest said.

"Their daughter was deaf and they didn't bother to learn her language?" Archer was starting to get angry.

"There's no need to get emotional, Jonathan." Forest said. "It's actually a good thing we discovered this. There is a treatment."

"Tell me about it." Archer said.

_July 15th, 2151_

_Hoshi and I are having lunch together almost every day. I really like her, and she signs very well. Sometimes I wonder if she finds me annoying because I'm so random. I can't help it! I'm just so happy to have someone I can actually _talk _to. _

Trip's signing has improved quite a bit. His fingerspelling goes at a nice speed, and he'll throw a sign or two in occasionally. John mostly stands back and lets us talk through fingerspelling. I wish he weren't there at all, though. Well, a month or so and he'll be gone. He'll go back to teaching middle school kids how to sign and he'll quit interpreting for me. He could just leave now, since the senior staff at least knows how to fingerspell, and Hoshi could interpret for me if I needed it.

_I wonder if I'll be able to hear someday. I wonder what everything sounds like on this ship. I asked Trip if the noise distracted him and he said "Not really, it just becomes background noise after awhile. I don't really even notice it." That's awful! I'd _love _to be able to hear all the little things that go on in Engineering all the time. Trip has no idea how fortunate he is. __I mean, I have a thing on my hip that vibrates every time someone's at my door! It gets really annoying after awhile. What do all the people talking in the mess hall sound like all put together? They're all sitting there, having their own conversations, and it makes one big noise. I wonder what that noise sounds like? And when the ship jumps to warp? Does that make a sound? If it does I'd love to hear it. It feels so cool! I'd love for just one __minute to hear all the sounds that these people hear 24-7._

_Well, now that I've dumped all this on you, I'd better be going. Captain Archer just sent me a message saying that he wants to see me in his quarters. He said it's important. Wonder what it could be._

Chapter Five is in the works…


	5. Five

DISCLAIMER: Paramount owns the _Enterprise _football field; I just like to call the plays.

AUTHOR'S NOTES: The wait is over! Aren't you all happy? This was originally one chapter, but I broke it down into two because it was kind of long…or maybe I just enjoy torturing poor little readers with cliffhangers! Thanks to all who have read and reviewed!

CATEGORY: General, maybe this chapter could be termed slightly towards Action/Adventure

RATED: PG now because of the mentions of battle.

THE SECRET LANGUAGE

CHAPTER FIVE

Amber walked up to Captain Archer's quarters and looked for the button to the door chime. _Which one was it? _She thought. After a few minutes, she gave up and knocked on the door. Captain Archer came a few seconds later.

"Hello, Amber." He signed. _Hey, Captain Archer's been practicing. _Amber thought. _He's pretty good. _

"Captain." Amber smiled and signed back. "You wanted to see me?"

"Yes." Captain Archer stood aside and motioned for Amber to enter. The Captain's quarters were no bigger than hers, which somehow made her feel better. Looking at Captain Archer standing in the small room, Amber was glad she was short. At least she didn't have to worry about hitting her head on the ceiling!

"Amber." Captain Archer signed. "I got a call-" Suddenly he broke off and seemed to be listening to something. Amber sat up a little straighter, even though she couldn't hear it. She lipread something like "I'll me ride there", which she figured was actually "I'll be right there." Looking back at her, Captain Archer signed. "I was just called to the bridge. Come."

Amber obeyed, standing up and following him out. _I hope Hoshi's there. _She thought. _Cause without her I won't have any idea what they're saying. _

"What happened?" Archer asked, entering the bridge. 

"A vessel has fired on us." T'Pol said, giving Amber a hostile glare as if to say, "What's _she _doing here?"

"Any particular reason _why?" _Archer asked. He'd thought even hostile aliens would at least give a _reason _before firing.

"No." T'Pol said.

"Captain, they're hailing us." Hoshi said.

Archer gave Hoshi a slight nod, and the alien appeared onscreen, speaking in some strange language.

"What's he saying?" Archer asked Hoshi.

"Uh…I'm putting it through the translator." Hoshi said. "He says, um…we have…violinated…violated his tarantula…territory."

"Tell him who we are." Archer instructed.

Hoshi identified the _Enterprise _in English, and let the translator put it into whatever alien language the man onscreen was using. After reading the translation, the alien looked up and began to talk angrily.

"Hoshi!" Archer said. 

"I'm sorry, sir!" Hoshi said, seeming to get a little frustrated. "I…guess the translator didn't work."

"What's he saying now?" Archer asked.

Hoshi squinted at the translator. "Uh…he's saying…"

Suddenly a huge blast rocked the ship. "I think he's mad at us, sir." Hoshi said sheepishly.

Archer remembered Ensign Scott standing behind him. The girl probably had no idea what to do. Archer started to sign something, but Trip came through on the comm. "Cap'n, you know where Amber is?"

"She's right behind me, Trip." Archer said. 

"Well, could ya tell 'er we need 'er in Engineering?" Trip said. Under normal circumstances, Archer would have laughed at Trip's style, but not right now. "I'll tell her." He said. He turned around and signed what he thought was "Ensign Scott, Trip needs you in Engineering", but when her jaw dropped, he figured he's signed it wrong.

"Sir, you just told her that Trip wants her in the bedroom." Hoshi supplied. 

Archer grimaced. _Oops. _He thought. "Sorry." He signed to Ensign Scott. The poor girl was blushing to her hairline. "Hoshi, you sign it."

Hoshi signed, and she must have done it right because Amber went right off the bridge. _Trip wants you in the bedroom. _Archer shuddered. _There's a mental picture I didn't need!_

Travis watched Amber go, biting back a grin. _Ha…if only the Captain knew. _He thought. He knew Amber liked Trip. If she didn't, she wouldn't have blushed like that. _I wonder if she'll tell Trip? Or will she be too shy? _He thought.

"Travis!" Travis heard Captain Archer snap. "You with us back there?"

"Yes! Yes, sir, absolutely!" Travis stammered. _I can't believe I'm sitting back here thinking about my best friend's love life while the ship's in danger! _He thought.

As she walked down the hall to Engineering, Amber felt somebody tap her shoulder. She turned around and saw John. "John!" She signed. "What are you doing?"

"I'm your translator." John signed back. "Where were you?"

"Captain Archer called me to his quarters, and then there was some kind of emergency." Amber signed. 

"I think someone fired on us." John signed.

"I know that." Amber signed. _I'm deaf, not stupid. _She thought.

Right then they arrived in Engineering. "Amber! Good!" Trip signed, leading her over to the warp core. "I hear you're good with warp cores. That true?"

"Yes." Amber signed uncertainly. "I was good at the Academy-"

Trip didn't let her finish. "Great." He signed, dragging her over to the warp core. 

"Wait!" Amber tried to sign, but Trip wasn't looking. She'd been _good _with warp cores, but she sure wasn't qualified to fix one if it should breach. 

"The core took a hit when the alien ship attacked us." Trip explained. "We need your help fixing it or we won't be able to get out of here."

"I'll try." Amber signed. "What's wrong with it?"

"The ship targeted our weapons systems." Trip signed. "The core's offline, and you need to help us bring it back on again."

"OK." Amber signed, biting her lip. "Let me try."

"Get her out of Engineering."

Archer gave his Vulcan science officer a glare that would have frozen ice water on the equator. "No."

"She cannot hear, Captain." T'Pol said. "She is deaf."

"I know that!" Archer said. "What do you want me to do? Have someone less qualified go down there to help Trip just because they can hear? Deaf doesn't mean dumb!"

"It _does _mean that she is not qualified to help." T'Pol's lack of emotion made Archer almost homicidally angry. "I told you when she first came on board, Captain, this is foolish." 

Without lessening his glare, Archer stood up. "Come with me." He said, stalking off the bridge to his quarters. When the doors closed, he whirled around to face T'Pol. "I used to think that deaf meant dumb." He confessed. "I didn't hate deaf people, I just thought all they were qualified to do was sit around all day and sign to their deaf friends. I know better now." 

"If you truly believed that deaf people were dumb, why did you accept Ensign Scott's assignment to _Enterprise?" _T'Pol asked.

Archer hung his head. "It wasn't because I thought she was qualified." He said. "Truth is, I accepted her assignment to avoid appearing 'prejudiced.' You know, 'politically incorrect', 'discriminating', all those great terms that I'm sure would have been thrown my way had I rejected Ensign Scott."

"You endangered your crew to save face with Starfleet?" T'Pol asked.

"You didn't let me finish." Archer sighed. "I had no intention of _keeping _her. I planned to give her a quick chance, say it didn't work out, and send her home. But then we got roped into this whole Sign Language thing. And I never once heard a negative report from Trip or anyone else in Engineering. I couldn't send her back on the basis that I was just didn't want a deaf person on my ship."

"That was not a very good cause for accepting Ensign Scott, Captain." T'Pol said.

"I know, I know." Archer said. _Leave it to T'Pol to call it as it is. _"But I know better than that now. T'Pol, I have watched Ensign Scott over the past six weeks she's been with us. I have every reason to believe she is just as competent as you or me."

"There are still certain things she cannot do." T'Pol pointed out.

"I know that." Archer said. "But I believe she's capable of helping Trip work this out."

T'Pol seemed to chew on that for a moment. "I will not question your judgment, Captain."

Archer raised his eyebrows in surprise. He held onto the remark that was forming in his head and was about to say something kinder when another blast rocked the ship. This time, the lights went out and Archer heard the power failing. "Oh, no." He said.

Trip reached for Amber to keep her from falling. She wound up falling on top of him, each of them hitting the floor with a solid thump. Right as he hit the floor, Trip saw John fall over the railing he'd been standing on, plunging into the main part of engineering below. Trip freed his hands and tried to sign "John's in trouble" to Amber, but before he could do anything, Engineering went completely dark.

Chapter 6 on its way…__


	6. Six

DISCLAIMER: If I owned them, I would tell you.

AUTHOR'S NOTES: This was going to be part of Chapter 5, but they were too long, so I split them up. I'd say I'm sorry for leaving you in a cliffhanger, but I'm really not…J I'm no techie, so if my Treknology is off in here you'll have to excuse it.

RATED: PG now because of battle and death.

CATEGORY: General

ARCHIVES: Do ask first.

THE SECRET LANGUAGE

CHAPTER SIX

Under normal circumstances, Amber would have taken some pleasure from being in this situation with Trip. He was holding onto her as if his life depended on it, and Amber had always thought she would like it if he did that. But right now, she didn't. All she felt was fear.

Where was John? She tried looking around for him, but Engineering was completely dark. She couldn't even sign to ask what had happened. She couldn't hear anything, either. _Stay right where you are. _She thought. _If you don't move, nothing will hurt you. _

A light flicked on. Amber released a breath she hadn't even known she was holding. "Trip?" She signed.

"Here." Trip signed, turning the light to face her. 

"What happened?" Amber asked.

"The alien ship must have fired on us again." Trip signed. He quickly looked up, as if listening to something. He nodded and said something Amber couldn't lipread. Then he turned his attention back to her and took her arm. "John's hurt."

Amber felt a sinking feeling in her stomach. Sure, John was a pain in the neck, but she didn't want him to be hurt. Without him, she'd have no way of communicating with the crewmembers that didn't know sign language. 

Trip wove their way through the rubble of broken console parts, hanging ducts, and injured crewmen to John. John was lying in a pool of blood on the floor with another crewman kneeling over him. If Amber could have shrieked, she would have. She didn't know exactly what shrieking _was, _just that it was a sound people-mostly young girls-made when they were scared or startled. Instead of "shrieking", she covered her face with her hands. When she uncovered her face, Trip was kneeling down next to John, saying something to the crewman, and apparently calling for help.

"What happened?" Amber signed. _Gosh, that's a good sign to know in Starfleet! _She thought. "Trip! What happened?"

"He fell." Trip signed, pointing to John. "When the blast hit us, I saw him fall off the platform." Trip pointed to the platform above main engineering. Amber looked up. It was quite a fall, and John must have hurt himself pretty badly. Shuddering, Amber forced herself to look away from him. "Is he OK?"

"No pulse." Trip signed, shaking his head. "They're bringing him down to Sickbay to see if Dr. Phlox can help him. But, he's lost so much blood…" Trip's signing trailed off and he shook his head. "I don't know if they can revive him."

Amber bit her lip and hugged herself. "I hope he's OK." She signed.

Trip didn't respond verbally, just hesitantly put his arm around her.

"Captain?" 

Archer sat up from where he'd been knocked onto the floor. "Did they fire?" He asked.

"Ohhh yes." Mayweather answered. "They targeted our power and weapons systems. We have no weapons, and we couldn't fire them even if we had them."

"Damage reports?" Archer asked, hauling himself to his feet.

"We don't have any power, sir." Mayweather said. "I can give you the damage report for the bridge, if you'd like."

Archer gave that a slight smile. "Thanks, Travis, but I know what happened here." The bridge was a mess. Well, _this _would keep the maintenance crew busy for a while. "Do we still have communications?" Archer asked.

"Yes sir." Travis responded. 

"Good." Archer said. "Archer to Tucker!"

"Tucker here, sir." Came Trip's voice. 

"What's happening down there?" Archer asked.

"Lots of damage." Trip said. "John fell off the platform into main engineering. He's hurt bad."

"How's Amber?" Archer asked. "She OK?"

"Physically, yeah." Trip said. "I caught her before she fell too far. She's kind of worried about John, though."

"Understandable." Archer said. "Listen, Trip, I want you and the rest of the Engineering staff to start working on restoring power. Dr. Phlox is gonna have an awful lot of patients on his hands, and without power he can't do much for them."

"Will do." Trip said.

Meanwhile in Sickbay, Dr. Phlox had had hands full with injured. Most of the injuries were fairly minor-a scrape here, a bruise there, a twisted ankle, a banged head. Ensign Scott's interpreter had come in accompanied by Commander Tucker, Ensign Scott, and three other Engineering personnel. According to Commander Tucker, the interpreter had fallen off the platform into main engineering when the ship had been hit. Phlox was trying everything he could, but without power he couldn't do very much besides stop the bleeding.

"Will he be all right, Doctor?" Commander Tucker asked.

"I can't say for sure." Phlox replied. "It all depends on how quickly we can get power back up so I can assess his injuries. And I do believe that getting power back up depends on you." He looked at Commander Tucker and Ensign Scott. Ensign Scott stood behind Commander Tucker, hands covering her mouth.

"Right." Commander Tucker took Ensign Scott's hands away from her mouth gently and signed something to her. She nodded and followed. "Trinneer, Keating, Park, let's go!" Commander Tucker called to the three other Engineering personnel who had come in with him. They followed him out of Sickbay.

"OK, Amber, good." Trip said, even though Amber couldn't hear him. She couldn't have even seen his signing, since her entire upper body was stuffed inside the ship's wall looking for a damaged power conduit. 

Amber kicked the wall with one foot, which was the signal for "Take me out, I found something." Trip and the crewman named Trinneer dragged her out. "What did you find?" Trip signed.

Amber motioned into the wall. "The conduit is damaged." She signed. She then went into an intricate explanation of what was wrong; going so fast Trip couldn't understand it.

"Whoa, whoa, Amber, slow down." He signed. "Slower. What happened?"

Amber sighed and began to sign slower. "The conduit is damaged." She repeated. "It needs to be fixed by fusing wires A and B back together, and then connecting wire A-1 with wire F-6. That should restore power to this section of the ship."

"Is sickbay in this section of the ship?" Keating asked. 

Trip nodded. "The sooner we get power, the sooner Dr. Phlox can help those people." He motioned to Amber. "Get back in there."

"Must I?" Amber winced.

"If you want John to live." Trip signed. "Just kick the wall if you need anything."

"It's just a small sprain, Ensign, nothing to worry about." Phlox said. "I might recommend that you stay away from high places while the ship is being fired upon from now on." 

"I will, Doctor." The ensign said. "Thank you."

"Uh, Doctor?" Phlox turned around to see a frightened-looking young lieutenant standing over Mr. Sinclair's bed. 

"Yes, Lieutenant Bakula, what is it?" Phlox said, striding over.

"What's this man supposed to look like?" Lieutenant Bakula asked, pointing at Mr. Sinclair. 

"Well, certainly not like _this." _Phlox said. Mr. Sinclair's skin was an ash gray, and his wound had obviously reopened, since there was large amount of blood on the bed where he lay. "Oh, my." Phlox said when he took Mr. Sinclair's pulse.

"What?" Lieutenant Bakula said. 

Phlox looked up. "He's dead."

"All right, Amber!" Trip said as the lights came on. 

"Good work, Ensign Scott." Park said, helping Amber out of the wall."

"Dr. Phlox to Commander Tucker." A voice interjected over Trip's communicator.

"Hey, Doctor!" Trip said. "Hey, did we do it or what? We'll leave the lights on for ya!"

"I have unfortunate news." Phlox said.

Trip's smile faded. "What is it?"

"Ensign Scott's interpreter is dead." Phlox said.

Chapter 7 coming soon…


	7. Seven

DISCLAIMER: In the _Enterprise _universe, not one character is mine. If it were so, I would have told you.

AUTHOR'S NOTES:

GENRE: General

RATED: G

THE SECRET LANGUAGE

CHAPTER SEVEN

One hour later, a hysterical Amber Scott sat in sickbay, trying to ask questions, wipe her eyes, and take the news in all at once. She wasn't doing a very good job.

"Amber, Amber, slow down. I can't understand you." Captain Archer had signed to her more than once, but it was no use. Her signing was so fast and disjointed that even Hoshi was having a hard time interpreting.

John had died right before Amber had gotten the power to come back on. Just by looking at the floor, she could tell he had bled to death. Sickbay's rug needed a serious steam cleaning. Dr. Phlox had assured her that nothing could be done, even if the power had come back on earlier, John was beyond all help. He had lost far too much blood. Trip tried to comfort her and calm her down, but it was no use. Amber wasn't used to flying off the handle like this; she always tried to control herself rather than lose her mind. But every control mechanism she had was shattered, her brain seemed to have lost all sense of logic.

"What will I do without him?" Amber signed desperately. "I didn't like him all that much, but what's gonna happen?"

Captain Archer put his fist to his mouth and lowered his eyes. "Amber…" He signed. "Sit down."

Amber sat down in a chair and unceremoniously wiped her nose on her sleeve. "Yes?" She signed, eyebrows raised to signify a question.

Captain Archer seemed to be gathering his thoughts. "I got a call from Admiral Forest the other day. You remember him, right?"

Amber nodded, recalling the jowly, gray-haired admiral. "I know him." She signed.

"He got a very interesting report on you." Captain Archer continued, his green eyes locking with hers. "Amber, you weren't born deaf."

Trip stood to the side of Archer and Amber, trying to make out their signs and giving Hoshi a little tap when he couldn't.

"He's telling her she wasn't born deaf." Hoshi said.

"She _what?" _Trip asked.

Hoshi put a finger to her lips. "Watch." She said.

Trip turned his attention to Amber and the Captain. Apparently, the news was just as big a shock to Amber as it was to anyone else. She was shrinking back, and her hands were making what Trip guessed was the sign language version of stuttering. Archer took her shoulders gently to bring her focus back to him, and signed some more.

"She was in an accident when she was three and lost her hearing?" Trip confirmed what he was seeing with Hoshi.

Hoshi nodded to that, watching Archer intently.

"Something about a surgery to fix her hearing?" Trip asked.

"I think that's what he said." Hoshi bit her lip.

Amber stood up and began to pace, then to sign at a furious rate.

"Slow." Archer signed to her.

"I don't want surgery." Amber signed. "And I'm still mad at my parents for not learning my language, and now I'm even more angry with them for not telling me about this."

Dr. Phlox stepped forward. "I can perform the surgery." He said, trying to sign but having little success. Amber looked around, confused. "Would someone care to tell me what he just said?" She signed.

Hoshi stepped in. "He told you he can perform the surgery." She signed.

"It's quite risky." Phlox said while Hoshi interpreted. "Your equilibrium will be off for a few days, and you'll have to stay in isolation for at least two weeks."

"Two weeks?" Everyone asked at once.

"Her brain isn't used to processing sound, _any _sound." Phlox said. "The simple sounds which most of us are accustomed to-the humming of the warp core, the beep of a door chime, even our own breathing-is something Ensign Scott's brain has never processed. If we expose her to too much too soon, her brain could shut down in an effort to protect itself."

After getting the full interpretation from Hoshi, Amber sat down and seemed to chew on it for a moment. "I want to hear." She signed. "I've always wanted to hear." She looked up. "I don't care what the risk is." She signed. "Let's do it."

"Are you ready, Ensign?" Dr. Phlox signed painstakingly.

Amber nodded to that. Her last memory was of the doctor holding a hyperspray to her neck and dispensing it into her. After that, she saw nothing but blackness.

Chapter 8 in writing…


	8. Eight

DISCLAIMER: _Enterprise _is not mine. John Sinclair was mine before he bought the farm. Amber is still mine, however.

AUTHOR'S NOTES: Sorry this one took awhile…I've been in Hot-lanta for the past week, and I couldn't bring my computer with me, so I haven't had much opportunity to write.

RATED: Back to G

CATEGORY: General

THE SECRET LANGUAGE

CHAPTER EIGHT

"She's waking up."

_What was that? _Amber thought. 

"Amber, hey Amber, wake up."

"She can't understand you, Commander. Remember, she's never heard before."

_What's going on? Where am I? _Amber opened her eyes. Trip was standing over her. "Doc, she's awake!"

"Trip?" Amber signed. "What is it?"

Dr. Phlox came over. When he saw that Amber was awake, he smiled at her. It was a funny kind of smile; sort of like a twentieth-century cartoon character she had once seen called the Grinch. "Good morning, Amber." He signed. It looked like he was speaking, too.

_Sounded _like he was speaking. Amber sat bolt upright. She heard something, then something else. She drew in a breath. She could hear it. She clapped her hands together. She could _hear _it.

"Slow, Amber." Trip signed. He wasn't speaking anymore. "Don't overload yourself. Remember, your brain can't process all of this at once."

Amber took a deep breath. The room became a little quieter. She could hear her own breathing mixed in with dozens of other sounds that she couldn't identify. "Beautiful." She signed.

Dr. Phlox stepped forward. "Let's get her into isolation."

Trip signed the doctor's words. "Isolation?" Amber signed. "No! I want to stay here!"

Trip grabbed her arm gently. "Your brain can't process all the sounds, Amber." He signed.

"Speak." Amber signed emphatcially. "I want to hear you speak."

Trip glanced at Dr. Phlox. He nodded. "Amber, your brain can't process all these sounds at once." Trip said, signing while he spoke. "As far as it's concerned, it's never heard them before. We need to isolate you so we can get you used to noise-_gradually." _He said.

Amber sighed-it sounded like a breath, but with more emphasis. "OK." She signed. Trip's words had all sounded like a jumble to her, but his signs came across perfectly.

The door to the isolation room made a sound as it opened. Amber wished she could identify it. She realized now that she was faced with being able to _hear _the sounds, but not tell what they were. It was almost as frustrating as not being able to hear at all. And she couldn't form the sounds with her mouth, either. Would she ever learn how? 

Amber leaned against a wall and heard her uniform making a noise. She closed her eyes, still groggy from the surgery. She'd have to ask what all these sounds were called later. For now, she had to sleep.

Archer strode into Sickbay. "How is she?" He asked.

"She seems fine." Dr. Phlox said. "A bit bewildered, but otherwise stable. She's in isolation now, to avoid overloading her brain. She'll have to stay there for awhile, as we get her used to sounds gradually."

Archer furrowed his brow. "She can't speak." He said. He hadn't thought about it before. "She'll have to learn how to speak."

"Exactly." Dr. Phlox said. "She will need to learn how."

"Will it be complicated?" Archer asked.

"No more complicated than teaching a child how to speak." Phlox said. "We will be teaching Amber to speak much the same way we would teach a young child. The only difference is that Amber is a twenty-eight-year-old woman and may be embarrassed by her mistakes."

Archer chewed his lip and looked towards Amber's isolation area. He drew a deep breath and sighed it out. "Well, first we learned her secret language." He said. "Now she's gotta learn ours."

Two days later, Hoshi entered Amber's isolation area. Dr. Phlox had suggested that, since she was closest to Amber, Hoshi would be the best person to get Amber adjusted to sounds. Hoshi had no idea how to do that, but she'd accepted the assignment anyway. She figured her best bet was to walk around the room, make some small sounds, and tell Amber what they were.

Before Hoshi could even say hello, Amber signed, "What's that noise?"

"What noise?" Hoshi asked.

"The one I keep on hearing." Amber clarified. "When I'm not hearing any other noise, I want to know what the noise I hear is."

"You mean that?" Hoshi asked, gesturing around the room. She guessed Amber was referring to the constant hum the ship's engines made.

"Yes." Amber signed.

"It's called a hum." Hoshi signed, walking over to the wall and tapping on it. "Hear that?" Amber nodded. "Tap." Hoshi said.

"Tap." Amber signed.

Hoshi clapped her hands together. "Clap." She said.

Amber repeated the motion, listening carefully. "Clap." She signed. 

Hoshi tapped on the wall again. "Tap." Amber signed immediately.

"Very good." Hoshi said. She clapped her hands.

"Clap." Amber signed back.

Hoshi gestured around the room. "Hum." Amber said.

Hoshi nodded. "You're doing great." She said. She took off her shoe and dropped it on the floor. "Thump." She said.

Amber seemed to get a kick out of that. "Thump?" She signed back. "That's funny."

"I guess so." Hoshi signed. "I never really thought of it that way." _But then, I've always been able to hear it. _

Amber was off like a shot. She banged on the wall. "Bang." Hoshi signed. Amber rubbed her hand against her uniform and looked at Hoshi expectantly. "Rustle." Hoshi signed. Amber took off for the wall again, but in doing so tripped over her cot and sprawled on the floor.

"Amber!" Hoshi cried, leaping forward. Amber sat up and signed, "I'm OK-what noise was that?"

Hoshi had to smile at Amber's impatience. "That," she signed. "was a crash."


	9. Nine

DISCLAIMER: I have asked, begged, pleaded, and cried, but Paramount still won't sell me _Enterprise. _At least they let me keep Amber.

AUTHOR'S NOTES: You want it, you got it! The Amber/Trip romance is here…or at least it's starting here. I'm not very good at romance, so if anyone has tips (or ideas) email me or leave a note in the reviews!

RATED: G

ARCHIVES: Ask

THE SECRET LANGUAGE

CHAPTER NINE

"OK, Amber, let's try this again." Hoshi said, trying not to sigh in frustration. She pointed to herself. "Hoe-shee." She said slowly, enunciating clearly, as if speaking to a small child. Amber was coming along well, considering how weak her vocal cords probably were. She could make small sounds, although they weren't intelligible. Hoshi was now trying to teach her some of the crewmembers' names. This was more difficult.

"Hhhhhh…" Amber started. "Hhhhhh…"

"Hoe-shee." Hoshi repeated with a patience she did not feel.

Amber formed the "O" shape with her mouth, but the sound wouldn't come out. "Shhhhhh…" She made the "E" shape, but that sound wouldn't come either. Hoshi's name sounded like "Hhhhhhshhhhh."

"You're getting it." Hoshi said, trying to be encouraging. "Hoe-shee."

"Ahhhhh…" Amber said. "Hhhhhhhhahhhh…"

_What _is _she trying to say? _Hoshi thought.

"Shhhhhh…"

_Is that supposed to be my name? _Hoshi thought as she listened intently.

"Hhhhhh…ahhhhhh…shhhhh…"

"Hoe-shee." Hoshi said again, trying to let Amber see the way her mouth formed the words.

"Yyyyyyyy…" Amber looked like she was trying to say the long "E" sound, but it was coming out like a "Y". Finally, she switched to sign language. "How do I say the 'O' sound?"

"Oh." Hoshi demonstrated.

Amber formed the shape and made a very garbled, slow "O" sound. "Hhhhhhohhhhhshhhhhyyyyyy."

_Well, it's progress. _Hoshi thought. _Slow progress, but progress. _

"Aaaaaaa…mmmmm…errrrrrr…" Amber slowly tried to form her name with her mouth. "Ammer." Was that what it sounded like? She didn't know. She'd have to ask Hoshi. "Hoe-shee." She said her friend's name. It was the easiest for her to pronounce. Captain Archer's name…now _that _was what Trip would call a "tongue-twister." "Zzh…ah…nah…than" was the closest Amber could get. 

"Ensign Scott?" Dr. Phlox opened the door. The door opened with a _swoosh, _or so Hoshi had called it.

Amber looked up. "Phlox." She said. She could tell her speech sounded garbled compared to the rest of the crew's. She knew she was just learning to speak, but she wanted to sound normal.

"Would you like to come out for a little while?" The doctor asked, signing his words.

Amber struggled to make the word come. "Yes." She finally said. Dr. Phlox had been letting her out of the isolation room for short periods of time, letting her hear all the sounds in sickbay. It was absolutely fascinating. So many sounds! Amber had discovered that her favorite was what the doctor described as a "rattle." Several of his animals made that sound.   
When they all made it together, it was called a "clatter." Then there was the noise Amber hated most of all-"silence." That was the complete absence of all sound. She had lived in silence her whole life, and she didn't like that she had to deal with it here too.

As Amber exited the isolation room, Lt. Reed was just entering sickbay. He stiffened as soon as he saw her. "Dr. Phlox, Ensign Scott." He greeted them formally. His speech sounded different than the rest of the crew. He formed the words differently.

"Malgum." Amber returned the greeting, saying the lieutenant's first name as well as she could. She could hear Hoshi's articulate pronunciation in her head, but couldn't make her lips form it.

"Lt. Reed." Dr. Phlox said. "Is there something I can do for you?"

"It's uh…" Lt. Reed began uncomfortably. "Just a little scratch, Doctor, it's probably nothing…"

"Nonsense." Dr. Phlox took out some of his examining tools and looked at Lt. Reed's hand. "We'll just put a little bandage on it." He got the bandage and placed it over Lt. Reed's scrape. 

"Thank you, doctor." Lt. Reed said stiffly. With one last sidelong glance at Amber, he headed out.

"Why didn't he say hi to me?" Amber signed.

Dr. Phlox blinked. "Excuse me?"

Amber made a gesture that she had often seen Trip use that seemed to mean, "forget it." She knew why Lt. Reed hadn't really said hello to her: he was afraid of her. He didn't like her.

"Hey Amber, what's cookin'?" Trip asked jovially as he entered sickbay a few days later. 

"Cookin'?" Amber repeated quizzically. 

"Ya know, happenin'?" Trip clarified.

"Happenin'." Amber repeated to herself. "Happening?"

"That's what I just said." Trip crossed the room to Amber. "Watcha doin'?"

Amber glanced at Trip. He had a funny way of speaking. It was quick, and he left off the "NG" diphthong at the end of the words, changing it to just an "N". "You sp…sp…talk funny." She said.

"You mean my accent?" Trip asked. Amber nodded. "I'm from Florida." He answered.

"Does everyone from Fl…Flor…itta talk like you?" Amber asked.

"Most of 'em." Trip said. "Ya think I have an accent, wait till ya hear Lt. Reed."

"I have." Amber said. "He doesn…does not lige…like…me." 

Trip cocked an eyebrow. "What makes you say that?"

"He game…came…to S…s…" Amber gave up and signed the word.

"Sickbay?" Trip asked.

"Yes." Amber said. "A foo…f…yyyyy…" She still couldn't make the "EW" sound.

"Few?" Trip supplied.

"Yes." Amber said. "Days ago. He titn't…didn't…say hello to me."

"Malcolm's shy, Amber." Trip said.

"Shy?" Amber repeated the word.

"Yeah, uh, shy." Trip performed the sign for shy, brushing his index and middle fingers up his cheek. 

Amber said the word, then did the sign. "Shy."

"Yeah, he's shy." Trip continued. "Especially around beautiful women."

Amber gave Trip a blank stare. "Sign." She said.

Trip signed his sentence. "Beautiful?" Amber signed. That startled her a little. "I'm not beautiful." She'd always known that. Even her own parents had told her that she was cute, but certainly not gorgeous. 

Trip leaned a little closer. "I think you are."

"Seriously?" Amber signed.

"Trip was leaning even closer now. "Sure do."

Amber wanted to kiss him right there. But she decided to let Trip make the first move. He was leaning closer, closer, and then…

He kissed her.

"Trip." Amber muttered. "Trip?"

"Mm?" Trip said as he broke away.

"Thank you." Amber signed.

"You're welcome." Trip signed back, turning to leave. "And there's more where that came from."


	10. Ten

DISCLAIMER: I don't own them; they belong to UPN and Paramount. Yeah, I don't like it either.

AUTHOR'S NOTES: You got a tiny taste of Amber/Trip in the last chapter, but don't expect too much here…I'm not much of a romance writer. I'll try to give you more in Chapter 12, though. Sorry about the lack of romance here.

RATED: G

ARCHIVES: You like it, you love it, you gotta ask me for it.

THE SECRET LANGUAGE

CHAPTER 10

"Come on, Amber, let's go." Hoshi tugged at her friend's arm. Dr. Phlox had given Amber permission to leave Sickbay and go to her quarters. Hoshi didn't really see how that would help-were Amber's quarters any noisier than Sickbay? How would that help her to adjust? But Hoshi wasn't about to argue with the doctor, so she agreed to lead Amber to her quarters. 

Amber followed Hoshi's lead reluctantly, as if she didn't want to leave Sickbay. "So many sounds." She said. Amber's speech was improving quite considerably, and her voice now seemed more natural and less nasally. Her pronunciation still needed work in some places, but she was speaking in more complete sentences now, and her speech was more understandable. Hoshi noticed that she would often use sign language while she was speaking. That was a habit they'd have to break, since once she was allowed to return to work, she'd have to talk while working on some conduit or what-not with her hands. Hoshi wondered how she had managed before.

"Yes, Amber, but there are a lot of sounds in your quarters, too." Hoshi said.

As they continued to walk, Amber kept on lingering, gawking at sounds other crewmembers were making. "Amber! Come on!" Hoshi jerked her arm. "We don't have time for this right now!"

Amber followed Hoshi, but didn't stop pointing out the sounds. "Tap." She said, pointing to a male crewmember absently drumming his fingers against the wall. "Thump." She said when a female lieutenant dropped a book on the floor. 

Hoshi rolled her eyes. If all this weren't so vital to Amber's learning, she'd put a stop to it right then. But it was important for Amber to learn all the sounds, so Hoshi just let her continue.

And continue she did. Amber pointed out every sound she'd learned so far. "Bang!" "Clap!" "Crash!" "Thump!" By the time they reached Amber's quarters, Hoshi was starting to notice some stares directed at them.

"OK, Amber, here we are." Hoshi said. "You're all set."

"Thank you." Amber said. 

"You're welcome." Hoshi said. "If you need to talk to one of us, you just press this button and say who you want to talk to."

Amber nodded. "Thank you, Hoshi."

Hoshi nodded. "Call me if you need anything."

As the weeks passed, Amber learned more and more. Her vocabulary was growing fast, although she still mixed words up. Her pronunciation was improving steadily, and her voice was settling into a nice alto sound. She still struggled with Captain Archer's name, a word that she was trying to master with Trip right now.

"Zhanathan." She said.

"Hard 'J' sound, Amber." Trip said. "Uh, tighten your tongue and keep it at the roof of your mouth." It was the first time he'd ever thought about how to make a "J" sound.

"Zh." Amber said.

"Clench your teeth."

"Jzh." 

"Don't force the air out all at once." Trip said. "_Jjj_onathan." He said, putting extra emphasis on the first syllable.

"Jjjjonathan." Amber perked up and smiled. "Jonathan!"

"Hey, that's real good, Amber!" Trip said. "Now what's my name?"

"Trip." Amber said. The pronunciation was perfect.

"Your name?"

"Amber."

"Ensign Mayweather?"

"Travis." Amber said with a confident smile.

"Ensign Sato?"

"Hoshi."

"The doctor?"

"Phlox."

"Lt. Reed?" 

"Malcolm."

"The Sub-Commander?"

"Teepol." Amber said.

"Close." Trip said. "T-Pol."

"T-Pol." Amber repeated.

"Now bring the T and the P closer together." Trip said. "T'Pol."

"T'Pol." Amber said.

"Captain Archer?"

"Jjjjonathan!" Amber said.

"You're getting a whole lot better." Trip said. "What do you say I get you dinner in the mess hall?"

Amber had never heard the mess hall before, so she had no idea what awaited her. When they opened the door, a huge amount of noise hit her ears. "What's that?" She asked.

"The mess hall." Trip said. "Everyone's talking loudly all at once so they can hear over everyone talking loudly all at once."

Amber's head was starting to feel funny. _It's just because I've never been in here with the sound before. _She told herself.

"Come on, Amber, this way." Trip said. His voice sounded so slow, so jumbled. Her vision was starting to blur.

_That's it. _Amber thought. _I'm getting out of here. _"Trip, we need to go." She said urgently.

"Why?" Trip asked. "We just got here."

"I have…" Amber steadied herself on the wall. Something was seriously wrong. She was getting scared. Her blurry vision was fading. 

"Have what?" Trip asked.

"Get me…out…" Amber managed before falling to the floor and hitting it with a solid thud.


	11. Eleven

DISCLAIMER: They're mine! All mine! Yeah right.

AUTHOR'S NOTES: Hehe…this story will probably deteriorate into Amber/Trip romance from here…but if you're looking for the two of them to sleep together, you've asked the wrong author. You have my permission to write one if you want, but I won't be writing one for you.

RATED: G

ARCHIVES: Ask

THE SECRET LANGUAGE 

CHAPTER ELEVEN

"Amber!" Trip called as the young ensign hit the floor. Every head in the mess hall turned in his direction. "Amber, _Amber!" _She was unconscious, and she was not breathing. Trip fumbled for his communicator with a shaking hand. "Tucker to Phlox!"

"Phlox here, Commander." Came the doctor's annoyingly cheerful voice.

"Get down to the mess hall right away, we have an emergency!" Trip said. The curious crewmembers were crowding around now, wondering what had happened. "Is that the deaf ensign?" "No way, she was talking to the commander." "I heard the doc gave her an operation and she can hear."

"Amber? Amber!" Trip called uselessly. She was beginning to turn blue.

"Move aside, Commander." Dr. Phlox said as he entered the mess hall. "Give Ensign Scott some breathing room."

"She's _not _breathing, Doctor!" Trip said.

"Oh dear." Phlox said. "Commander, help me carry her to Sickbay."

Trip took Amber's feet, while the doctor carried her by the shoulders. _How he can be totally calm and cheerful at a time like this is absolutely beyond me. _Trip thought. But then, a lot of things Phlox did were beyond him.

"Amber…"

Amber heard the voice. Was it a voice? She couldn't tell. It sounded like her name.

"I shouldn't have taken her. I should have known." That was Trip, but he wasn't talking to her.

"I will agree that it wasn't the smartest thing you've ever done, Commander." That was Dr. Phlox. "And you should have known better than to take her to a place so filled with loud noises as the mess hall, especially at seventeen hundred hours."

_What are they talking about? _Amber thought. She remembered falling, but that was all. Had she fallen in the mess hall? What had she been doing in the mess hall? Where was she?

"I thought it might help her to adjust." Trip said. "You know…the noises and everything."

_So I was in the mess hall with Trip. _Amber concluded. _Were we on a date? _She hoped not. What a first date that must have been!

"I appreciate your willingness, Commander." Phlox said. "But from now on, _I'll _be the judge of what helps Ensign Scott adjust, not you."

Amber forced her eyes open. She was in Sickbay. How had she gotten here? Why was she here? "Trip?" She rasped. Her throat was so dry that the sound was barely even audible. Swallowing, she tried again. "Trip?"

Trip turned around. "Amber! You're up!" He said.

"What happened?" Amber asked. Her throat felt like sandpaper.

"You don't remember?" Trip asked.

"I fell." Amber said. "I don't know where, and I don't know how, I just know that I fell."

"You were in the mess hall." Dr. Phlox said. "Commander Tucker and you were on a date-"

"We were _not!" _Trip said.

"And your brain shut down because it couldn't process all the noise." Phlox said, ignoring Trip's little interjection. 

"My brain shut down?" Amber asked.

"Yes." Phlox said. "Everything. You stopped breathing, your heart stopped beating. You were blue by the time you got here."

"If my heart stopped beating and I stopped breathing…then I was…" Amber said, looking up at the doctor.

"Dead." Phlox finished for her. "We had you on a full respirator for a week."

"I've been out for a week?" Amber asked.

"Two weeks." Phlox said.

_"Two weeks?" _Amber exclaimed. "I was out for two weeks?"

"We had to practically bring you back from the dead, Amber." Trip said. His blue eyes were concerned. "We almost lost you."

A rattle sounded from a corner of Sickbay, and the doctor went to see what it was. This left Amber and Trip alone.

"So were we on a date?" Amber asked.

"No." Trip said.

"Did you ask me to go to the mess hall?"

"Yes." Trip said.

"Did you say when?"

"Yes…" Trip said uncomfortably.

"Then it was a date." Amber said.

"It…it wasn't a date, Amber." Trip said.

"Yes it was." Amber let out a slight laugh, called a giggle. It was a sound that young girls made when they were talking about the hot guy in school, or seeing a cute boy smile at them. It wasn't as detestable a sound as she'd imagined. In fact, she liked it.

"It wasn't a date." Trip said. His defense was failing.

"It was." Amber said, a goofy smile still on her face.

"Was not." Trip said, a smile beginning to play at the corners of his mouth.

"Was so." Amber said.

"Was not."

"Shut up." Amber hooked her arm around his neck and kissed him. It was incredible. Even better than the last time.

"Hey Amber?" Trip asked, his breath warm against her cheek. "When you're out of here, what do you say to dinner in my quarters?"

"Is this a date?" Amber asked.

"Yeah." Trip said. "This time it's a date."


	12. Twelve

DISCLAIMER: Amber is mine. No one else is.

AUTHOR'S NOTES: I do have an ending in sight for this fic, and the chapters will be coming much quicker now that I know how the story will end. But it won't end without a healthy dose of Amber/Trip! I'm sorry this chapter took so long, but I've been a little busy writing sports fics with the Olympics and all. Guys will probably be bored to death with this chapter. Sorry! I promise to have more action in the next one. I have been alerted by a review from Sarahjane that this is a "Mary Sue." So I did some soul-searching, looked at the story, took a litmus test, and discovered that Sarahjane was pretty much right. My intent was not for Amber to be a Mary Sue at all.So while this chapter will be continuing the pattern, I'm gonna try to pull Amber out of the Mary Sue slump for the next few. Also please note that I hardly ever write romance, so this is a real step out for me. Sorry if it doesn't seem too realistic. 

RATED: G. Maybe PG for some romantic themes.

THE SECRET LANGUAGE

CHAPTER TWELVE

"What am I going to wear?" Amber signed frantically. She was leaning into her closet, flinging clothes left and right. Hoshi was turning into a human clotheshorse.

Hoshi sighed and put the clothes on Amber's bed. "Amber." She tapped her friend gently on the back. "Speak. Don't sign." When she was frazzled, Amber would revert back to sign language. That was a habit Hoshi would have to break her of.

"What am I going to wear?" Amber repeated. Her voice was now completely normal sounding, and someone who didn't know might believe she had been born hearing. Her vocabulary was improving, although her pronunciation needed considerable work in some areas. As soon as that problem was cleared up and her brain could handle the sounds, Dr. Phlox said she could return to work.

"Uh…clothing?" Hoshi asked, trying to lighten the mood.

Amber didn't find it very funny. "Hoshi!" She said. "I don't have _anything _that will work! I'm not going on a date in my uniform or my pajamas!" 

Hoshi almost laughed at that mental image. "You mean you don't have anything dressy?"

"No!" Amber wailed. "No, I don't!"

"OK, come with me." Hoshi said, taking her arm.

"Where are we going?" Amber asked.

"My quarters." Hoshi said.

"OK, Amber, here's something." Hoshi said, holding up a coral red silk dress that stopped just below the knees. "It's a size eight, it should fit you."

Amber looked at the dress with an uncertain look on her face. "I don't know…"

"Come on!" Hoshi urged. "Red's a fantastic color on you!"

"All right." Amber said, ducking into the bathroom to change. She emerged a few moments later wearing the dress. "Does it look all right?" She asked uncertainly.

"You look great!" Hoshi gasped. "Trip's gonna be bowled over."

"Bowled over?" Amber asked, contemplating the unfamiliar expression. 

"Yeah." Hoshi said. "You know…he's gonna think you look so great he won't be able to speak."

"Oh." Amber giggled. " 'Bowled over.' I like that."

"Here are some shoes." Hoshi took a pair of red satin heels out of her closet. 

Amber examined the shoes. "They're tall." She said.

"Well, now Trip won't have to bend over to kiss you." Hoshi said.

Amber blushed. "Do you really think he'll kiss me?"

"Of course he will." Hoshi said. "He asked you on a date, do you really think he's not going to kiss you good-night?"

"I hope he does." Amber said, pulling on the shoes. "Am I ready?"

Hoshi examined her friend. "Uh…what about makeup?"

Amber gave her a blank stare. "Makeup?"

"Yes." Hoshi said. "You _do _know what makeup is, right?"

"Of course." Amber said. "But I've never worn any before."

"You've never worn makeup?" Hoshi asked. She didn't know a single girl above thirteen who hadn't experimented with her mother's makeup and then tried to sneak out of the house with it on. But then, Amber wasn't a regular girl.

"No." Amber said. "I've never been on a date before, or any formal occasion."

"Well." Hoshi said. "There's a first time for everything."

Contrary to what many of the crew might think, Hoshi had amassed quite the cosmetics department in her bathroom. She never really used them, as she didn't think Starfleet was a career in which they were really needed, but she always had them on hand in case a black-tie affair suddenly popped up. Now, she would use them on Amber.

"Come on." Hoshi led Amber into the bathroom and sat her down on the toilet. "OK, first foundation." Hoshi opened her cabinet. She hoped Pale Ivory would work-it was the only color she had. 

"What's that?" Amber asked.

"Foundation." Hoshi explained as she crouched in front of Amber and began carefully applying the thick liquid to her face. "It smoothes the skin tone a little bit." Hoshi had never put makeup on anyone before, except for her cousin Barry when she was nine. Barry had been five at the time and had seen no harm in it. Hoshi's mother had nearly strangled her, but Barry's mother had thought it was hysterical. She had even taken a picture. Hoshi and Barry still had a good laugh over it every now and then.

"All right." Hoshi said as she finished. 

"Am I done?" Amber asked.

"Nope." Hoshi said. "OK, uh…" She located a tube of mascara. "Keep your eyes open."

"What are you doing?" Amber asked.

"Mascara." Hoshi said. "It helps make your eyelashes look a little longer." Truth be told, Amber didn't need a whole lot of mascara. But it never hurt to put a little on.

"What now?" Amber asked as Hoshi screwed the lid back on.

"Eye shadow." Hoshi said, choosing a light tan color. "Close your eyes."

"You do this every day?" Amber asked.

"Not every day." Hoshi said. "In fact, hardly ever. I just like to have it on hand in case I need it." She put the eye shadow away and pulled out the blush. 

"That tickles!" Amber squealed as Hoshi began to apply the blush. "Oh, sorry." She quickly apologized. "I hate that sound…what's it called…"

"Squealing." Hoshi supplied.

"Right." 

"It's OK." Hoshi said. "All young human girls do it."

"That doesn't make it all right." Amber said.

Hoshi quickly blended the blush. "Now for the tough part." She said. "Lipstick."

"Lipstick?" Amber repeated.

"Yes." Hoshi said, rummaging through her cabinet. "Ah, here's one." She pulled out a pale pink. "It's smudge proof." She took the cap off and began applying it. "So it won't come off when you eat, or when Trip kisses you."

Amber seemed to consider that. "No, I don't think he'd like to wear my makeup, would he?"

Hoshi laughed, thinking of the incident with Barry. "No, he certainly wouldn't." She grabbed a brush and ran it through Amber's short brown hair. She spritzed it with some hairspray and gave Amber a quick look-over. "There. You're done."

Amber looked at herself in the mirror. "It feels wired."

"Weird." Hoshi corrected. "It feels weird."

"That too." Amber began to walk uncertainly on her high heels. "I've never worn these shoes before…what did you say they're called?"

"Heels." Hoshi said. 

"They're very uncomfortable." Amber said as she rounded the corner to Hoshi's door. All of a sudden Hoshi heard a crash. _"Oof!" _Amber said.

"Are you OK?" Hoshi asked, pulling Amber up. The young ensign had fallen off her shoes and into the wall.

"Yes." Amber straightened her hair. "Thank you, Hoshi."

"Anytime." Hoshi said. "Have fun tonight. And don't fall on the way there!"

Amber flashed Hoshi a grin and left. Hoshi didn't have the heart to tell her there was lipstick on her tooth.

_Knock-knock-knock._

"Amber!" Trip said out loud. "Use the doorchime!" He called. A few seconds later, the doorchime rang. Straightening his shirt, Trip went to the door and opened it. His eyes widened involuntarily when he saw Amber standing in front of him in a red silk dress and…was she wearing _makeup? _

"Uh…Amber!" He stammered, finally finding his voice. "Uh, come in! You look…ravishing."

"Is that a good thing?" Amber asked, walking in stiffly. Trip noticed that she seemed a little taller than she had previously. Looking down, he saw that she was wearing high-heeled shoes.

"Yes, it's a very good thing." Trip said, leading her over to the table and holding out her chair for her. "Sit down." He said, gesturing to the chair.

Amber sat down, seeming glad to get the weight off her feet. Those shoes couldn't be comfortable.

"I had to practically brainwash the chef to get the steaks in here." Trip said. "We're pretty far from the kitchen, you know."

Amber smiled politely. 

"So when did the doctor say you can come back to work?" Trip asked. "We miss you, ya know."

"When I improve my pronunciation and my brain adjusts to the sounds." Amber said, taking a bite of her steak.

"Mm." Trip said. "Can Chef cook or what?"

"Sure can." Amber said. "A lot better than my mother."

Trip laughed at that.

"Is something wrong with that?" Amber asked, looking somewhat alarmed.

"No, oh, no." Trip said. "It's just that…well, I've never heard someone dump on their mama's cookin' before."

"Dump on?" Amber asked. 

"Yeah. Uh…say it's bad." Trip said.

"My mother wasn't a very good cook." Amber said. "I only saw her cook on Christmas. She was always worried, so the turkey was overdone."

"That doesn't sound too good." Trip said.

"It wasn't." Amber recalled with a slight laugh. "It was always dried out." 

"My mama wasn't much of a cook." Trip said. "My daddy was the cook in our family. There were seven of us kids, you know."

_"Seven?" _Amber asked. "I was the only one!"

"You shoulda seen dinner at our house." Trip chuckled. "Daddy would deal the bread like he was dealing cards."

Amber gave him a blank stare. "Dealing out cards?" She asked.

"Yeah. You know…" Trip suddenly realized that, being an only child _and _deaf for most of her life, Amber had probably never played cards before. In Trip's house, it had been a way of life. "Have you ever played cards before?"

Amber shook her head.

"Well." Trip went to his nightstand and got out a deck of cards. "There's a first time for everything."

"Aha!" Trip hollered as he slapped the jack. "Gotcha!"

Amber scowled. "Drat." She said. 

Trip just laughed. For the past half hour, he had been engaged in teaching Amber to play slapjack. It had been fun, but Amber was being beaten like a rented mule by Trip. 

"Let's try again." Amber said.

Trip raised his eyebrows. "You're very persistent." 

"I couldn't have gone eight years through Starfleet Academy if I wasn't." Amber said. "Now try again."

Trip and Amber started laying their cards on the table as fast as they could. "YES!" Amber whooped as she beat Trip to slapping the jack. "I got you! I got you!"

Defeated, Trip sat back in his chair. "You're worse than my brother." He said.

Amber just laughed. It was a beautiful sound.

"I had fun tonight." Amber said as Trip walked her back to her quarters. 

"So did I." Trip said. 

"That 'slapjack'…we'll have to play it again sometime." Amber said. "It was…exciting."

"There are a whole bunch of others, too." Trip said. "I could teach you those, too."

Amber stepped a little closer, trying to initiate the kiss. "Could you?" She asked.

"Mm-hm." Trip said, leaning down towards her and then suddenly going in for the kill. It startled Amber only slightly, but soon she shoved herself into the kiss. "I love you, Commander Charles Tucker III." She whispered.

"Call me Trip." Trip said. "And I love you, Ensign Amber Scott."

Amber smiled slightly. "Call me Am." 


	13. Thirteen

DISCLAIMER: Wish I owned them but I don't.

AUTHOR'S NOTES: Amber's back on the job! This chapter is an attempt to pull Amber out of the cold, dark wasteland that is Mary Sue-dom. It's also an attempt to explore a former deaf person's take on the hearing world. Please note that I'm not deaf myself, I only take ASL. 

RATED: G

ARCHIVES: Go to my profile, click my email, and write me a clear, concise letter stating where you want to archive it and at least five good reasons why. *g* Actually no, just tell me where and I'll probably say yes.

THE SECRET LANGUAGE

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Amber walked cautiously down the halls to Engineering. She realized it was the first time she'd really been around the ship without John tagging behind her or Hoshi pulling her. The hallways buzzed with conversation. Amber knew that to most of them, she was just another crewmember on her way to duty. But she felt like a black dog standing in a field of white snow. Like everyone knew who she was.

The doors _whooshed _open as Amber entered engineering. For a moment, she thought she was going to pass out again. But then her head cleared and she took in all the sounds. The warp core was humming, and there were numerous crash, thumps, and thuds. For a second Amber felt lightheaded, and she thought it was going to be a repeat of that awful incident in the mess hall. But soon the sensation passed, and she smiled. _Phew. _She thought, almost laughing at the expression. It meant someone was relieved, or glad that something was over. 

"Amber!" Trip hollered. Amber leaned over the railing and waved. 

"Get down here, or you're gonna be officially late!" Trip said. Amber quickly descended the stairs. She had to restrain herself from throwing her arms around Trip's neck and kissing him. On duty, Trip was her commanding officer, not her boyfriend.

"Good morning, Commander." She said formally.

Trip raised his eyebrows. "Commander?" He asked. "Amber, we may have to forget our personal feelings for each other while we're on duty, but you can still call me Trip." 

Amber relaxed slightly. "Good morning, Trip."

Trip returned the smile. "And a good morning it is, too." He said. "We need your help with something." He led her over to a conduit that had been opened. "We need a small person to get in there." He said. "You're the smallest we've got."

"All right." Amber said, walking over to the conduit. Two crewmembers were chatting right in front of it, so she walked in between them.

"Hey!" One of them said. 

Amber turned around, not knowing what to say. "Did…did I do something wrong?" She asked.

Trip came bounding over. "I'll take care of this." He said, gesturing for the crewmembers to leave. He crouched down next to Amber. 

"Was I impolite?" She asked.

Trip remembered the lessons the late John Sinclair had taught them about deaf culture versus hearing culture. "Amber, I know that when two deaf people are talking, it's OK to just walk right through, but…that doesn't work with hearing people. In hearing culture, you need to say 'excuse me' before you walk through."

"But that would…that would break eye contact!" Amber said. 

"Hearing people don't always look each other in the eye when they're talking, Amber." Trip explained. "It's just a difference in the way we do things."

Amber nodded as Trip left. _Darn it! _She thought. _Five minutes into my shift and I've already broken a rule. _She filed that rule away in her memory for future reference.

"So, how's your first day back at work?" Hoshi asked over lunch.

"It's OK." Amber said, hoping desperately that she did not break any more rules, especially in front of all these people. "I didn't know that the hearing people have such different rules. Is it inappropriate to look someone in the eye when you talk to them?"

"Not inappropriate." Hoshi said. "It's just not always done."

"In deaf culture it is considered rude _not _to look someone in the eye." Amber said. "I didn't think it was going to be such a big adjustment."

"I'm sure you'll do fine." Hoshi said.

"Can you tell me what other differences there are?" Amber asked. "So I don't embarrass myself again?"

"Sure." Hoshi said. "Um…you don't just walk through people. You have to-"

"I know." Amber grimaced, remembering the incident that morning. "I already learned that one."

"Oh, OK." Hoshi said. Amber was grateful she didn't ask how. "Well, you don't point to someone in hearing culture. If you're talking about someone, you either use his name or a pronoun."

"Pointing is impolite?" Amber asked.

"In most situations." Hoshi said. "I mean, if you were trying to help me find someone across the room, you could point to him. But not if he's just sitting at the table next to you."

Amber was starting to wish she'd brought something to write on. "A lot to think about." She said. "I don't know if I'll ever get used to it."

Hoshi gave her a reassuring smile. "Don't worry." She said. "You will."

_August 28th, 2151_

_Yikes! You won't believe what happened to me on duty today! People didn't exactly educate me in deaf polite vs. hearing polite, so I totally messed up! Not five minutes into my shift I just walked through a couple of crewmembers that were talking. I didn't even think about it. Turns out in deaf polite that's fine, but not in hearing polite. These two people were about ready to kill me! Fortunately Trip came by and cleared things up, and I sure won't be messing that one up again. At lunch, Hoshi told me all these other things that aren't acceptable in hearing polite…oh, man (that's an expression for exasperation)! There are _so _many rules and regulations! You can't point at somebody; you don't always make eye contact…_oy _(that's an expression for exasperation, too. I forget what language it is)! _

_Guess I'd better go. _Enterprise _got a call from this alien a few hours ago and we're going to meet him on his planet. I can't wait! I just hope Dr. Phlox is OK with me going. After all, he almost wouldn't let me go back to work…he needs to lighten up. _

_I'll tell you all about this new alien we've encountered when I get back. I've waited my whole life for this! I can't wait!_


	14. Fourteen

DISCLAIMER: _Enterprise is not mine. Amber Scott and the Alkiri are._

AUTHOR'S NOTES: Hey, who else here finds the image of Trip trying to teach someone how to dance _really funny? I know I sure do, that's why I wrote this chapter. I have never made up an alien race before, so this is my first shot, and to be quite honest I don't think it's all that good! But I had to do __something with it. This story is very, very close to done._

RATED: G

THE SECRET LANGUAGE

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

"Who are these…Alkiri?" Amber asked, stumbling over the unfamiliar name. 

"An alien race." Lt. Reed answered. 

"I know that." Amber said, shifting in the shuttle's uncomfortable seat. "I mean, what are they like?"

"They have unusually large hands, and their eyes seem to look in both directions at once." Lt. Reed had an odd way of speaking, Trip had called it an accent. He said that all people from England, where Malcolm was from, spoke like that. Amber wondered if she had an accent. She was from Tampa. 

"Sounds lovely." Hoshi said, making four of the five crewmembers in the shuttle titter. The one who _wasn't tittering was T'Pol. Amber had once heard a crewmember describe the Vulcan science officer as a "stick in the mud." Amber guessed that was an expression for someone who wasn't a whole lot of fun. __I sure hope I'm not a stick in the mud. She thought._

"We're comin' in for a landing." Trip said. Amber watched his movements carefully as he prepared the shuttle to land. She had never landed a shuttle before, and she wanted to make sure she knew what to do in case she ever had to.

The shuttle set down on the Alkiri homeworld's surface, which looked quite a bit like Tampa in the summertime. The air felt like Tampa, too-hot and muggy.

"Gosh, it's hot out here." Captain Archer said. "Sure hope these people have air conditioning."

"I don't think it's that bad." Amber said. 

Captain Archer looked at her as if she'd just grown another head. "You _don't?"_

"I grew up in Tampa." Amber said. "It was like this all the time."

"And I thought San Francisco was warm weather." Captain Archer said.

"It was too cold for me." Amber said. "When I was at the Academy I had to bring my coat with me everywhere."

"Even in the summer?" 

Amber thought for a moment. "No, not in the summer." She said. "But even then I wished it were warm like Tampa. I guess I'm just not a cold weather person."

Captain Archer shrugged. "Different strokes for different folks."

Amber looked at him quizzically. "Huh?"

"It means different people like different things." Captain Archer clarified.

"Oh." Amber said. "'Different strokes for different folks.' I like that."

"A _party? Cap'n, are you sure you heard them right?" Trip asked as the away team met later that afternoon. _

"The Alkiri are a…gregarious…race." Captain Archer said. 

"What's gregarious?" Amber whispered to Trip. 

"Outgoing." Trip answered. 

"And they're throwing us a party?" Lt. Reed asked. He looked a little uncomfortable.

"Captain, we should check to make sure that this is not a setup." T'Pol said. "We know nothing about this race, or what their true intentions might be."

"Stick in the mud." Amber muttered under her breath. Trip stifled a laugh.

"They're also very musical." Captain Archer said. "And they've asked that we bring some music from our own planet to share with them."

_Music? Amber asked. Of course she knew what music __was, but she'd never heard it. What did it sound like? Well, she'd find out soon enough._

A few hours later, Amber sat at the Alkiri's party. It sounded an awful lot like the mess hall at lunchtime. The only difference was this music. The music was loud and obnoxious. Amber wished they'd just turn it off.

"Hey, Am." Trip said, sitting down next to her. "So, whaddaya think?"

Amber gave him a withering look. "I think I want to be deaf again."

Trip laughed. "What, you mean the music?" He asked. "This is the Alkiri's music. Not all music's like this."

"The music is only slightly less laughable than the Alkiri." Amber looked to where Captain Archer and Ensign Mayweather were talking to an Alkiri. The Alkiri all looked the same: big

boned, with a purplish tint to their skin and huge, beady eyes. Neither the men nor the women had any hair. The only way you could tell the two apart was that women wore a silver

bracelet on their right wrist. Amber had learned earlier that Alkiri marriages were arranged when girl were between the ages of twelve and fourteen, and the bracelet was to show that

they were promised. The married women wore a gold bracelet on their left wrist and kept the silver bracelet.

"Aw, come on, Amber." Trip said. "I think they're about to put on some of our music." No sooner had Trip said the words than slow music came through the speakers. "Hey, come on,

Amber, let's dance!"

"No…I can't." Amber said.

"I'll teach you." Trip said, dragging her out of her chair.

"Well…OK…" Amber knew her protests weren't going to be worth anything.

"OK, like this." Trip placed her right hand in his and then positioned her left arm around his waist. "Just like in all the old movies. Now just…flow to the beat, I guess."

Amber didn't know what "flow to the beat" meant, so she just followed Trip's lead. Amber had never been to school dances or any occasion where dancing was involved. Nobody had

ever asked her, and she would have been too shy to go anyway. She'd much rather have sat at home and studied.

Suddenly the slow music stopped, and loud, brassy music blasted through the speakers.

"Ah!" Amber cried, covering her ears. Trip didn't mind the music though. In fact, he seemed to like it.

"Hey, come on Amber, I'll teach you how to swing dance!" He said.

_"Swing dance?" Amber asked._

"Yeah, come on. Just follow my lead." Trip said.

Trip's lead was harder to follow here, as he kept changing directions and swinging Amber from left to right. _Maybe that's why they call it "swing" dancing. She thought. No matter how hard she tried, Amber just couldn't keep up with the movements. _

"Well." She panted as soon as the song was over. "Thanks, Trip."

Trip laughed and patted her back. "Anytime, Amber."

_August 29th, 2151_

_Well, the Alkiri sure are…interesting. They're very gregarious (that's a new word I learned. It means outgoing), and they play really weird music. They played some of our music from earth, something Trip called "swing." Trip tried to teach me how to dance. Well, if I learned one thing last night, it's that I'm certainly not a dancer! That "swing" music was way too loud and fast. Maybe I'll try the "classical" music that Hoshi was talking about._

_Well, I have to go. 7 AM duty shift tomorrow. Ugh! I hate early morning shifts! Anyway it's late so talk to you later!_


	15. Fifteen

DISCLAIMER: I don't own _Enterprise._

AUTHOR'S NOTES: This is it. This fic is DONE. This fic is FINISHED. This fic is COMPLETE. Never thought it would happen, did you? It went totally nuts, I really didn't expect it to turn out this way. But it did. In fact, I like the way this is going to end better than my original ending. Will _you _like it? Read and find out! Thanks to all the loyal readers who have read and reviewed and kept me going! Thanks especially to those of you who put this on your favorites list! 

ARCHIVES: If you want to archive this story, you'll have to link from FanFiction.Net, because I'm deleting it off my hard drive. I have no use for it.

THE SECRET LANGUAGE

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

"Ensign Scott?"

Amber pulled her uniform on and glanced around her quarters. Where had that sound come from? It didn't sound familiar.

"Ensign Amber Scott?"

Amber exited her bathroom. The voice had come from the screen on her desk. On the screen was Admiral Forest. 

"Ah…Admiral?" Amber asked. Why was Admiral Forest calling her?

"I have a question for you." Admiral Forest said. 

"I'm listening." Amber said.

"Sit down for a second and I'll tell you about it."

Amber sat down and looked at the Admiral. "What's up?"

_Knock-knock-knock._

Archer looked up from the book he'd been reading. "Come in, Amber!" He yelled. He'd never get her to use the doorchime.

Amber entered his quarters. "Captain?" She asked.

Archer put his book aside. "What is it, Amber?"

"Well…I just got a call from Admiral Forest." Amber said. "Starfleet Academy's just received a new cadet, Brian Appleton."

Archer nodded. "And?"

"Cadet Appleton's deaf, sir." Amber said. "And since John died, Starfleet's fresh out of interpreters."

"And they want you to be Cadet Appleton's interpreter." Archer finished.

Amber nodded, looking at the floor. "I'm going to take the job."

Archer was silent for a moment. "Have you thought about this?"

"Yes, sir, I have." Amber said. "Please, Captain, it's not anything you've done, or anyone else. It's just that…well…I know it'll be impossible for Brian to go through the Academy with no interpreter. And, even though I really didn't like John, he was a good interpreter and he was one of the biggest reasons I got through the Academy at all."

Archer stood up. "It's a noble cause, Amber." He said. "But are you sure this isn't just an emotional reaction? You've always wanted to serve in Starfleet. Do you really want to give all that up just for one boy?"

"I'll still be serving in Starfleet, Captain." Amber said. "Just…not in the way I'd thought I would."

Archer thought for a second. "I'd be lying if I told you I was happy about this, Amber." He said. "I'm not. But if it's what you really want to do, I'm not going to stand in your way."

Amber's face broke into a smile. "Thank you, sir." She said. "I need to be to the Academy by next week; that's when the fall semester starts."

"Understood." Archer said. "Dismissed."

One week later, Amber stood in front of the shuttle that would take her to San Francisco. She had planned on leaving alone, having already said her goodbyes. But just as she was getting into the pod, the doors _swooshed _open. 

"Amber!" Trip called.

Amber turned around. Trip, Hoshi, and Captain Archer were standing behind her

"Why are you here?" Amber asked. "We already said goodbye."

"Sure, but we had to see you off." Hoshi said, giving Amber a hug.

"Yeah, and we couldn't let you go off to sunny San Francisco without giving you a few pointers." Trip said.

"I've been to San Francisco before." Amber said. "I _did _go to Starfleet Academy, remember?"

"Oh, yes, but you also said that you spent most of your time in your room studying." Trip countered

"I did." Amber said.

"Well, now you won't be able to." Hoshi said. "So we're going to give you a few little tips."

"Never step in Jackson's roses." Captain Archer started.

"Who's Jackson?" Amber asked.

"The groundskeeper." Captain Archer said. "We used to joke that he had obsessive-compulsive disorder, and my guess would be that he isn't getting better with old age. He's fanatical about his roses. If he sees even one petal out of place, he'll go nuts all day trying to fix it."

"And take this camera." Trip handed Amber a green digital camera. "Jackson may have OCD but he sure keeps the gardens looking beautiful."

Amber took the camera and slung it over her shoulder. "Anything else?"

"Yeah." Hoshi said. "Keep in touch with us, OK? I'm losing my lunch companion now so you better write to keep me busy."

"I will." Amber said. She looked at her watch. "Oh, I have to go."

After another quick round of hugs, Amber got into the pod and began preparing to leave. "I'll miss you, _Enterprise." _She whispered, suddenly fighting back tears. "You've been good to me."

"I'm gonna miss her." Trip said when he, Hoshi, and Archer exited the shuttle bay.

"So am I." Archer said. "She wasn't with us for long, but she was a valuable member of the crew." He turned his gaze to Trip. "So how come you didn't kiss her goodbye?"

Trip's jaw dropped. "Huh? What…no. Why would I do that?"

"Oh, Trip don't give me that." Archer said. "Everyone knows you two were an item."

"Were not!" Trip argued. "We were friends, Cap'n, that's all."

"Uh-huh, sure." Archer said. "I'd stay and harass you more, Trip, but I've gotta get back to the bridge."

As soon as Archer was out of earshot, Hoshi asked, "So why _didn't _you kiss her goodbye?"

Trip blushed. "I didn't think it was that obvious." 

Hoshi laughed. "You're a terrible liar, Trip Tucker."

"And exactly how terrible am I?" Trip asked indignantly."

"Malcolm, Travis, and I had a pool going as to when you were gonna pop the question." Without giving Trip time to answer, Hoshi left.

Trip slumped against the wall. _How did she know? _He thought. He certainly hadn't been going to pop the question anytime soon; he'd planned on waiting until Amber had more time to adjust. Now he would never have the chance.

"You'll never know, Ensign Amber Scott." He said quietly. "You'll never know."__


End file.
